EosIn the northern part of the Indonesian island of Sumatra lies the Toba caldera, a massive crater formed by what scientists think is the largest volcanic eruption ever experienced by humanity. The eruption, called the Youngest Toba Tuff supereruption, took place about 74,000 years ago. By dating zircon, a diamond-like gemstone, and other minerals in the area such as quartz, Reid and Vazquez have pieced together clues about the activity of magma below the surface prior to the supereruption.READ MORE

GS
2016 was an exciting year for the Geochemical Society. From the successful Goldschmidt conference in Japan to the Elements journal that members receive every other month, the GS connected scientists in 70 countries to the latest developments in the field. Click here for a brief report of the society's activities last year.

Universe Today via Phys.orgWhen the Apollo astronauts returned to Earth, they came bearing 380.96 kilograms (839.87 lb) of moon rocks. From the study of these samples, scientists learned a great deal about the moon's composition, as well as its history of formation and evolution. For example, the fact that some of these rocks were magnetized revealed that roughly 3 billion years ago, the moon had a magnetic field.READ MORE

University of Rochester via Phys.orgThe Tibetan Plateau in China experiences the strongest monsoon system on Earth, with powerful winds — and accompanying intense rains in the summer months — caused by a complex system of global air circulation patterns and differences in surface temperatures between land and oceans.READ MORE